


If you need a hug, just say the word, I'll be there

by magicsophicorn



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/F, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: Joan comforts Zoey about her dad. (Spoiler: it involves hugging.)
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84





	If you need a hug, just say the word, I'll be there

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to whoever sent me the anon prompt on Tumblr for this one. I thought it was just going to be a short few hundred words drabble, but the muse had other plans apparently.

It was stupid really. Just an innocent comment.

Well, perhaps not innocent, but definitely not aimed at her, and not even something that should cause this reaction.

_“I hope I never have to see him again,” Leif had said flippantly, after Tobin had read aloud the latest article about his father’s new yacht._

He probably hadn’t even really meant it.

But Zoey couldn’t help but think about her dad. About how little time she had left with him, how much she wished with every fibre of her being that she would still be able to see him every day for years to come.

She could feel the tears building behind her eyes and she struggled not to let them fall. She couldn’t cry in front of these guys. She was their boss, sort of. Plus she refused to be the ‘emotional woman at work’ stereotype.

But thinking it didn’t really help her do it.

“Zoey…” Max said, his voice thick with empathy, and that was _not_ something she could cope with right now.

She quickly got up and fled to the only place she could think of where he wouldn’t be able to follow her – the ladies bathroom.

Closing and locking the toilet stall door behind her, then leaning against it, Zoey breathed out deeply and let the tears fall freely.

Someday soon she would lose her dad, and never get to see him again. It hurt more than anything she could ever have imagined.

She let out a loud sob and didn’t hear the bathroom door opening.

“Zoey?” Joan’s voice called out, echoing slightly round the empty bathroom.

Zoey startled and banged her elbow on the stall wall.

So much for pretending she wasn’t there.

“Could you come out here please?”

She really didn’t want to do that. Having Joan see her cry would be even worse than the boys seeing it. Joan was her boss, and she was so strong and tough, she hadn’t once cried at work when she was getting divorced. Plus she had explicitly told Zoey not to bring her personal life into the office.

“How did you know I was in here?” Zoey said, sniffling only slightly as she tried to get herself under control enough to exit the stall.

“We’re the only two women who work on this floor,” Joan deadpanned, then paused, “also I saw you run in here. Would you please come out?”

Zoey wiped her face with her sleeve and took a deep breath in before opening the door to face Joan.

Joan frowned as she took in Zoey’s no doubt pathetic appearance, and Zoey was sure she must be incredibly disappointed in her right now.

“What happened? Did one of those idiots out there break your heart?”

Zoey snorted a little at the thought. It helped stop her crying actually.

“Oh no, nothing like that. I’m sorry, I know this is really unprofessional. I’ll… I’ll clean myself up and get back to work.”

Joan’s frown deepened.

“Why would you do that when there’s obviously something wrong?”

Now it was Zoey’s turn to frown, hers in confusion.

“You told me not to bring my personal life into the office, so…”

Joan laughed.

“I just meant ‘don’t sleep with any of the guys in the office’, not ‘don’t have any emotions whilst at work’.”

“So sleeping with the girls in the office is okay then?” Zoey quipped, mostly by reflex.

Joan’s eyes went wide and a slight blush crept across her cheeks, and Zoey suddenly remembered what she had said earlier about them being the only two women working on their floor.

Thankfully Joan spoke before Zoey could re-open her mouth and dig herself any deeper.

“Anyway, the point is,” Joan said, closing her eyes briefly, “whatever is wrong you can tell me. You were there for me through my divorce, and I would like to be there for you in whatever it is you’re going through. So, you know, spill.”

Zoey hesitated. Should she tell Joan what was going on? Almost as soon as she thought it she realised that yes, of course she should. Joan had been so open about her troubles with Charlie that Zoey owed her the same trust in return.

“It’s, well, my… my…” She couldn’t think of any way to say it that didn’t sound overly dramatic, so she just said it all in a rush, “my dad is dying. We don’t know how long he has left, it could be a few years, could be a few months.”

“Oh Zoey,” Joan whispered, and before Zoey realised what was happening Joan had stepped up close to her and enveloped her in a hug.

Zoey stiffened for a moment but then found herself relaxing into the hug almost immediately. Joan was a bit taller than her and it made for perfect hugging conditions, her head tucking just under Joan’s chin. Zoey’s arms moved of their volition to wrap around Joan’s waist, and she felt so utterly safe and cared for in that moment that her tears started flowing again.

“Let it all out, I’ve got you,” Joan whispered, and Zoey did.

She hadn’t even realised that she needed this. But she really, really, did.

Part of her hoped the hug would never end.

Eventually though she had no more tears left in her to cry, and her sobs turned into shallow breaths as the pain in her heart about her dad’s condition softened from a sharp sting to its usual constant ache.

Joan pulled away from her slightly, resting her hands on Zoey’s shoulders.

“I’m so sorry that this is happening. Please believe me when I say that I am here for you, whenever and whatever you need. If you need to talk, I can listen, if you need to forget I can take you out on the town, or even if you only need a hug, just say the word, I’ll be there.”

Joan smiled at her and Zoey was taken aback by the fondness she could see in it. She had really meant what she had said.

“Thank you, that… that means a lot,” she managed to say, trying hard not to start crying again.

Joan stepped away from her completely then, and Zoey had to fight the urge to reach out for her.

“I… should get back to work,” Joan said hesitantly, and Zoe wondered if she had been about to say something else instead, “but if you need to go home now please do.”

Joan headed for the door, pausing when she reached it and turning back to face Zoey.

“You’re strong Zoey, you can get through this.”

She smiled one last time and then left the bathroom, leaving Zoey alone again.

Zoey looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was red and blotchy, her makeup totally ruined, she looked terrible. But somehow she felt better.

Joan was right, she could get through this. It hurt to even think that, but it was true. Her dad would die and she would go on living, for her mom, for her brother, for her future nephew, and most of all for dad himself, who would never want her life to be over just because his was.

She washed her face, cleaning off her makeup as best she could.

Taking a deep breath, Zoey left the bathroom and went back to work.


End file.
